Mexico seeks house-arrest site for old drug lord

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Officials said Friday that Mexican prosecutors are reviewing possible house-arrest sites for Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, an 85-year-old drug lord with 10 years left to serve for the slaying of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena.

The United States was outraged two years ago when drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero's conviction in the notorious 1985 killing was overturned on procedural grounds. A new warrant was issued for him, but he has not been seen since. Another so-called "grandfather" of the drug trade, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, remains in prison for the killing.

Two federal officials who were not authorized to be quoted by name said Friday that a court ruled in January that Fonseca Carrillo was eligible for a form of house arrest offered to elderly or infirm prisoners.

The government is reviewing defense proposals for the site, where Fonseca Carrillo would be guarded by police or prison employees.

The next step in the case will come within a month, when prosecutors decide whether the house proposed by the defense team is secure enough.

If the two sides can't agree, the judge can request an outside opinion.

Camarena's murder escalated tensions between Mexico and the U.S. to perhaps their highest level in recent decades.